Hospices, places where death can be institutionalized, are gaining
favor. Not because of heartfelt sympathy for the dying, but because the
cost-conscious social “scientists” have decided that it is cheaper to die in a
hospice than in a hospital.

It is hoped that the hospice will provide a nicer atmosphere
for the dying than does the hospital; that the patient and family will be
psychologically prepared for the impending death and that allo
can accept this somewhat intimidating reality with faithy,
grace and a sense of cosmic fulfillment.

Why is it that we feel we can plan everything remains a
mystery? So far most of what wse have “planned” has
not worked out too well. Maybe hospices will be an inmprovement
over what exists. But I am not sure. It sounds like sort of a nursing home for
the terminally ill, and a Disneyland for the yet
to be bereaved. I guess the place will be filed with psychologists and social
workers explaining how it is to die and what to expect and how to handle it.

I don’t know how pain will be handled. Whether
doctors will be encouraged to use narcoticsx to
relieve it. I don’t know whether morphione
will be alowed to assuage the mental pain of
impending separation or will this be dealt with by enforced psychotherapy with
or without religious embellishments.

The whole thing may be a great idea and may work out
wonderfully. Perhaps there will be long lines waiting to get in. But it would
seem that the privacy and indivuality of death and
dying will have been lost.

Lingering death is a personal and difficult episode, indeed
the last episode of life. The first prerequisite for going to a hospice is top be aware that youy are dying. Some
peopole never want to know that, nor want to think
about death.

There is much pretense in the finaldays, and often doctor and family
sensing the nature of the patient’s defenses against knowledge, protect the
secret and go alonbg with the deception. That sort of
gamesmanship in deference to death could not occur in a hospice. In a hospice
it will all hang out. We are all dying and had better learn to create an ambience
which makes the best out of a bad deal. So far so good.
The patients may help each other in agonal moments.
They will observe death and perhapos lose their fear
of it. Perhaps.

Also, left totheir own devices
they dying might want to ease their mental and physical pain with drugs,
alcohol or even a little pot. That’s not a bad idea. Let the last moments be
free of the restrictions of society. Have an open bar. Leave the narcotics
closet unlocked.. Give all the guests a syringe and
teach them how to use it. Prepare an excellent cuisine Let the motto resound, “eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die”.

But I don’t think that’s to be. I think that the hospice
will be a tightly budgeted closely administered place staffed by young health
health-care professionals holding “health-education” classes teaching that
drink, smoking, pot and narcotics are really bad for their health. I can see
them short on expensive proteins and long on cheaper carbohydrates. I can see a
costly $40,000 a year administrator checking on all this.

In my view a hospice should offer DisneyLand, Reno or religion
in any combination the dying patient wants. But I fear it will be more a prison
than a fun place, a jail than a chapel/.